CN116171547A - User equipment aggregation for downlink communications - Google Patents

Abstract

The present application relates to apparatus and components including devices, systems, and methods for UE aggregation for downlink communications in a wireless network.

Description

User equipment aggregation for downlink communications

Background

The third generation partnership project (3 GPP) Technical Specification (TS) defines standards for new air interface (NR) wireless networks. These TSs describe aspects related to user plane and control plane signaling over the network.

Drawings

Fig. 1 illustrates a network environment according to some embodiments.

Fig. 2 illustrates a message flow according to some embodiments.

Fig. 3 illustrates a signaling diagram in accordance with some embodiments.

Fig. 4 illustrates another signaling diagram in accordance with some embodiments.

Fig. 5 illustrates an operational flow/algorithm structure according to some embodiments.

Fig. 6 illustrates another operational flow/algorithm structure in accordance with some embodiments.

Fig. 7 illustrates another operational flow/algorithm structure in accordance with some embodiments.

Fig. 8 illustrates a user equipment according to some embodiments.

Fig. 9 illustrates a base station according to some embodiments.

Detailed Description

The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numbers may be used in different drawings to identify the same or similar elements. In the following description, for purposes of explanation and not limitation, specific details are set forth such as particular structures, architectures, interfaces, and techniques in order to provide a thorough understanding of the various aspects of the various embodiments. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art having the benefit of this disclosure that the various aspects of the embodiments may be practiced in other examples that depart from these specific details. In certain instances, descriptions of well-known devices, circuits, and methods are omitted so as not to obscure the description of the various embodiments with unnecessary detail. For the purposes of this document, the phrases "A/B" and "A or B" refer to (A), (B) or (A and B).

The following is a glossary of terms that may be used in this disclosure.

The term "circuitry" as used herein refers to or includes portions of hardware components configured to provide the described functionality. The hardware components may include electronic circuitry, logic circuitry, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group) or memory (shared, dedicated, or group), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Device (FPD) (e.g., a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), a Programmable Logic Device (PLD), a Complex PLD (CPLD), a high-capacity PLD (HCPLD), a structured ASIC, or a programmable system-on-a-chip (SoC)), or a Digital Signal Processor (DSP). In some implementations, circuitry may execute one or more software or firmware programs to provide at least some of the functions. The term "circuitry" may also refer to a combination of one or more hardware elements and program code for performing the function of the program code (or a combination of circuitry used in an electrical or electronic system). In these embodiments, the combination of hardware elements and program code may be referred to as a particular type of circuit.

As used herein, the term "processor circuit" refers to, is part of, or includes the following: a circuit capable of sequentially and automatically performing a series of arithmetic or logical operations or recording, storing or transmitting digital data. The term "processor circuit" may refer to an application processor, a baseband processor, a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit, a single-core processor, a dual-core processor, a tri-core processor, a quad-core processor, or any other device capable of executing or otherwise operating computer-executable instructions (such as program code, software modules, and/or functional processes).

As used herein, the term "interface circuit" refers to, is part of, or includes a circuit that enables the exchange of information between two or more components or devices. The term "interface circuit" may refer to one or more hardware interfaces, such as a bus, an I/O interface, a peripheral component interface, and a network interface card.

As used herein, the term "user equipment" or "UE" refers to a device having radio communication capabilities that may allow a user to access network resources in a communication network. The term "user equipment" or "UE" may be considered synonymous with and may be referred to as a client, mobile phone, mobile device, mobile terminal, user terminal, mobile unit, mobile station, mobile user, subscriber, user, remote station, access agent, user agent, receiver, radio equipment, reconfigurable radio equipment, or reconfigurable mobile device. Furthermore, the term "user equipment" or "UE" may include any type of wireless/wired device or any computing device that includes a wireless communication interface.

As used herein, the term "computer system" refers to any type of interconnected electronic device, computer device, or component thereof. In addition, the term "computer system" or "system" may refer to various components of a computer that are communicatively coupled to each other. Furthermore, the term "computer system" or "system" may refer to a plurality of computer devices or a plurality of computing systems communicatively coupled to each other and configured to share computing resources or networking resources.

As used herein, the term "resource" refers to a physical or virtual device, a physical or virtual component within a computing environment, or a physical or virtual component within a particular device, such as a computer device, a mechanical device, a memory space, a processor/CPU time, a processor/CPU utilization, a processor and accelerator load, a hardware time or usage, a power supply, an input/output operation, a port or network socket, a channel/link allocation, a throughput, a memory usage, a storage, a network, a database, and an application or workload unit. "hardware resources" may refer to computing, storage, or network resources provided by physical hardware elements. "virtualized resources" may refer to computing, storage, or network resources provided by a virtualized infrastructure to an application, device, or system. The term "network resource" or "communication resource" may refer to a resource that is accessible by a computer device/system via a communication network. The term "system resource" may refer to any kind of shared entity that provides a service and may include computing resources or network resources. A system resource may be considered a set of contiguous functions, network data objects, or services that are accessible through a server, where such system resource resides on a single host or multiple hosts and is clearly identifiable.

As used herein, the term "channel" refers to any tangible or intangible transmission medium for transmitting data or a data stream. The term "channel" may be synonymous or equivalent to "communication channel," "data communication channel," "transmission channel," "data transmission channel," "access channel," "data access channel," "link," "data link," "carrier," "radio frequency carrier," or any other similar term representing a pathway or medium through which data is transmitted. In addition, as used herein, the term "link" refers to a connection made between two devices for transmitting and receiving information.

As used herein, the terms "instantiate … …", "instantiate", and the like refer to the creation of an instance. "instance" also refers to a specific occurrence of an object, which may occur, for example, during execution of program code.

The term "connected" may mean that two or more elements at a common communication protocol layer have an established signaling relationship with each other through a communication channel, link, interface, or reference point.

As used herein, the term "network element" refers to physical or virtualized equipment or infrastructure for providing wired or wireless communication network services. The term "network element" may be considered synonymous to or referred to as a networked computer, networking hardware, network equipment, network node, or virtualized network function.

The term "information element" refers to a structural element that contains one or more fields. The term "field" refers to the individual content of an information element, or a data element containing content. The information elements may include one or more additional information elements.

Fig. 1 illustrates a network environment 100 according to some embodiments. The network environment 100 may include User Equipment (UE) 104 and 106 and a base station 108 of a Radio Access Network (RAN). The base station 108 may be a next generation node B (gNB) to provide one or more 5G new air interface (NR) cells to provide NR user plane and control plane protocol terminals to the UEs 104/106.

The UEs 104/106 may be an aggregated group that cooperate to improve uplink or downlink communications. For example, the UE 104/106 may operate as a virtual UE that includes more platform resources than the UE 104/106 alone. In this way, UE aggregation may provide more transmit power, antenna/RF chains, antenna diversity, etc.

The aggregate UE may include a target UE and one or more secondary UEs. The uplink/downlink communication performed by the secondary UE may be a benefit to the target UE, which is the source or destination of the communicated information. For the embodiments described herein, the UE 104 may be considered a target UE and the UE 106 may be considered a secondary UE. However, these roles may be dynamic and may change over time. The target UE 104 and the auxiliary UE 106 may belong to the same user or may belong to different users. The target UE 104 is typically shown as a mobile phone and the auxiliary UE 106 is typically shown as a smart watch. These depictions are non-limiting. In other embodiments, other types of UEs may be used as target UEs/auxiliary UEs.

The UEs 104/106 and base station 108 may communicate over an air interface compatible with 3GPP TS such as those defining fifth generation (5G) NR system standards. In some embodiments, the target UE 104 may communicate with the base station 108 over a Uu interface and may also communicate with the secondary UE 106 over a Side Link (SL) interface. The side link interface may be any type of wired or wireless interface. For example, the side link interface may be an interface of a wireless personal area network technology, a wireless local area network technology, or a wireless wide area network technology.

In some embodiments, the secondary UE 106 may camp on a cell provided by the base station 108. In these embodiments, the secondary UE 106 may also communicate with the base station 108 over the Uu interface. In other embodiments, the secondary UE 106 may not camp on a cell provided by the base station 108 and may therefore be hidden from the base station 108. In these embodiments, the assisting UE 106 may not be able to communicate with the base station 108 over the established Uu interface, but may still be configured to receive information from or transmit information to the base station 108, as will be described.

Fig. 2 illustrates a message flow 200 according to some embodiments. The message flow 200 may be performed with the secondary UE hidden from the base station 108. However, similar concepts may also be used in case the secondary UE camps on a cell provided by the base station 108.

The target UE 104 may identify one or more secondary UEs, including the secondary UE 106, with which to form a UE aggregate. The target UE 104 may use various criteria to identify the secondary UE. The criteria may include UEs belonging to a common user. The criteria may additionally/alternatively include UEs within a predetermined range from the target UE 104 or having a predetermined side link quality with the target UE 104. The criteria may additionally/alternatively include UEs that have declared to be capable of assistance. The declaration may be transmitted via a Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH) transmission, a sidelink synchronization signal block (S-SSB) transmission, or the like. The criteria may additionally/alternatively include a relatively stationary UE with respect to the target UE 104. For example, the target UE 104 may select them as secondary UEs only if the intended UEs are within a predetermined proximity for a predetermined period of time. Accordingly, it may be desirable for the secondary UE to have relatively low mobility relative to the target UE 104. The criteria may additionally/alternatively include UEs with sufficient processing power. The processing capability may be, for example, transmission power, uplink/downlink processing power, a predetermined number of transmit or receive antennas, etc. In some embodiments, the target UE 104 may not select an auxiliary UE with a processing capability lower than the capability of the target UE 104 itself. However, in some embodiments, an auxiliary UE with processing power less than that of the target UE 104 may still be selected by the target UE 104 and can contribute by, for example, improving spatial receive diversity.

At 204, the target UE 104 may transmit configuration information to the secondary UE 106. The configuration information may be information sufficient to enable the secondary UE 106 to decode downlink communications (e.g., downlink Control Information (DCI), physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) transmissions, etc.) from the base station 108 to the target UE 104. The configuration information may include a Radio Network Temporary Identity (RNTI), an indication of a configured/activated bandwidth portion (BWP) on which the target UE 104 is operating, a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) configuration, a PDSCH configuration, an expected time to receive downlink communications from the base station 108, and so forth.

The PDCCH configuration may include control resources and search space information sufficient to allow the secondary UE to identify and correctly decode the PDCCH transmission. PDSCH configuration may include demodulation reference signal (DMRS) information (e.g., number of DMRS symbols in a slot, DMRS format, etc.) and other information that allows the assisting UE 106 to identify and correctly decode PDSCH transmissions.

In some embodiments, the expected time to receive downlink communications from the base station 108 may be the time at which the target UE 104 is expected to receive downlink communications. In the case where the target UE 104 and the secondary UE 106 are in close proximity, the secondary UE 106 may use the same expected time of reception as the target UE 104. When the target UE 104 and the secondary UE 106 are communicating over a relatively large distance, the secondary UE 106 may use the expected timing at which the target UE 104 is to receive downlink communications and the relative positioning information of the target UE 104 and the secondary UE 106 to determine when the secondary UE 106 is expected to receive downlink communications.

At 208, the target UE 104 may send a trigger request message to the base station 108 to request activation of the aggregation mode. In some embodiments, the trigger request message may be Uplink Control Information (UCI) transmitted in a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) transmission, an extended hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) -Acknowledgement (ACK) transmission, a special Scheduling Request (SR), or a special Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) transmission.

In some embodiments, the trigger request may be transmitted in response to the target UE 104 not successfully decoding the initial PDSCH transmission from the base station 108. In some embodiments, rather than sending a one-bit HARQ-ACK to indicate unsuccessful reception of a PDSCH transmission, the target UE 104 may send a two-bit HARQ-ACK, where the first bit corresponds to an acknowledgement bit/negative acknowledgement bit of a typical HARQ-ACK transmission, and the second bit indicates whether the target UE 104 requests entry into the aggregation mode.

In some embodiments, the trigger request message may include only an indication of a request to enter (or exit) the aggregation mode. In other embodiments, the trigger request message may additionally/alternatively include a desired time to process all PDSCH transmissions (including those received directly from the base station 108 and those received from the secondary UE). In other embodiments, the trigger request message may additionally/alternatively include a HARQ-ACK for PDSCH transmissions (as described above).

In some embodiments, the trigger request message may additionally/alternatively include information that facilitates retransmission of PDSCH to facilitate reception of PDSCH transmissions by both the target UE 104 and the auxiliary UE 106. For example, the target UE 104 may provide a transmission configuration indication identity (TCI) to the base station 108 to configure a downlink transmission having desired characteristics.

At 212, the base station 108 may transmit the scheduling DCI and the scheduled PDSCH. The DCI/PDSCH may be transmitted to the target UE 104 but is also intended to be received by the secondary UE 106. For example, the base station 108 may transmit DCI/PDSCH based on TCI provided by the target UE 104. As another example, the base station 108 may transmit the DCI/PDSCH with a wider spatial beam than that used for the initial transmission. The wider spatial beam may facilitate reception by both the target UE 104 and the secondary UE 106. As another example, the base station 108 may transmit multiple DCI/PDSCHs, where each DCI/PDSCH is intended for a different one of the aggregated UEs. These DCI/PDSCH may be transmitted using different spatial beams or common spatial beams. Multiple PDSCH transmissions may include the same transport block directed to the target UE 104.

At 216, the target UE 104 may transmit a forward request message to the secondary UE 106. The forward request message may request the secondary UE 106 to transmit (retransmit) any transport blocks that the secondary UE 106 is able to decode correctly.

In some embodiments, the forwarding request message may be a message transmitted on a side link (e.g., PSCCH transmission). In other embodiments, if the secondary UE 106 is able to decode the PUCCH from the target UE 104, the forwarding request message may be a NACK transmission on the PUCCH. For example, the trigger request transmitted at 208 may be used to indicate that the target UE 104 did not successfully receive the initial PDSCH transmission and request the secondary UE 106 to transmit (retransmit) successfully decoded transport blocks.

At 220, the secondary UE 106 may forward the transport block to the UE. This may be based on forwarding the request message. The transport blocks may be forwarded on pre-configured side link resources or the same resources indicated by the base station 108 for initial transmission. The secondary UE 106 may transmit the transport block in the form of Uu transmission (e.g., PUSCH) or side link transmission (e.g., PSSCH). For example, the transport block may be transmitted to the target UE 104 on uplink symbols. Various embodiments may consider Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS) and interference management aspects in the forwarding of transport blocks.

In some embodiments, the secondary UE 106 may automatically retransmit the transport block to the target UE 104 as opposed to having a specific request to forward the transport block (at 216 or 208). For example, after receiving the configuration information at 204, the secondary UE 106 may begin forwarding successfully decoded transport blocks to the target UE 104 based on a pre-configured timeline after decoding the PDSCH transmission. The target UE 104 may forward the successfully decoded transport block on pre-configured time/frequency resources.

At 224, the UE 104 may transmit HARQ-ACKs based on the retransmitted PDSCH. In the event that the UE 104 does not successfully decode the retransmitted PDSCH as received directly from the base station 108, it may defer transmission of HARQ-ACKs until it has received and processed the transport block from the secondary UE 106.

Fig. 3 illustrates a signaling diagram 300 according to some embodiments.

The signaling diagram 300 shows a PDCCH 304 that may be received by the target UE 104. PDCCH 304 may schedule PDSCH 308 to be received by target UE 104. In some embodiments, the target UE 104 may operate in an aggregated mode and may not successfully receive the PDSCH 308 directly from the base station 108. Thus, the target UE 104 may communicate with the aggregate UE to receive PDSCH of the transmission (retransmission) at 312.

PDCCH 304 may be associated with PUCCH 316 designated for transmission of a received HARQ-ACK corresponding to PDSCH 308. For example, PDCCH 304 may indicate the time of PUCCH 316 by providing a K1 value. However, if at the indicated time, the target UE 104 is still in communication with the aggregate UE at 312 to attempt to correctly receive the PDSCH, the target UE 104 may not be ready to transmit HARQ-ACKs in the PUCCH 316. Thus, various embodiments describe a process by which transmission of HARQ-ACKs may be suspended.

In a first option, the target UE 104 may transmit a special NACK (e.g., 00 instead of 0) on the PUCCH resource 316 to indicate that the target UE 104 is not ready to send real HARQ-ACK information. A second PUCCH resource (PUCCH 320) offset from PUCCH 316 may then be triggered. The value of Toffset may be preconfigured or dynamically configured by the network and may be known to the target UE 104. If the target UE 104 is not yet ready to transmit the true HARQ-ACK information in PUCCH 320, it may again transmit a special NACK and the deferral procedure may repeat.

In a second option, the target UE 104 may transmit a special NACK on PUCCH 316 to indicate the desired offset from PUCCH 320. In some embodiments, a special NACK may provide an indication of one or more preconfigured offset possibilities to be used.

As described above, in some of the embodiments, both the target UE 104 and the auxiliary UE 106 may camp on a cell provided by the base station 108. In these embodiments, the base station may provide a more positive role in establishing UE aggregation and communicating with the secondary UE. For example, the secondary UE may be selected by the target UE 104, as described above. However, the target UE 104 may then transmit a recommendation to the base station 108 for UEs to be included as secondary UEs. In other embodiments, the base station 108 may select UEs to include as secondary UEs. This may allow UEs not yet in established communication with each other to participate in UE aggregation.

For downlink transmissions, the base station 108 may multicast transport blocks to the aggregate UEs (e.g., target UE 104 and auxiliary UE 106). This can be accomplished in a number of ways.

In some embodiments, the aggregate UE may have a common identity. For example, the aggregated UEs may all be associated with a group RNTI (G-RNTI). The base station 108 may then transmit DCI with Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) bits scrambled with the G-RNTI. The aggregation UE may decode the DCI to determine that it relates to the aggregation and may identify PDSCH transmissions scheduled by the DCI.

In some embodiments, information about the aggregated UE may be signaled with a group common DCI (GC-DCI). For example, the GC-DCI may include a list of UE identities corresponding to aggregated UEs, a first UE identity in the list of identities may identify a target UE 104 to which PDSCH scheduled by the GC-DCI is to be transmitted. The remaining identities in the list may correspond to secondary UEs. Thus, by receiving the GC-DCI, each of the aggregated UEs will be aware of the destination of the transport block and the role that the UE is to play in the aggregation (e.g., as an assist or target).

In some embodiments, PUCCH resources for HARQ-ACKs from each of the aggregated UEs may be RRC mapped to the aggregated UEs. The mapping may sort the list relative to the identities in the GC-DCI. For example, the UE may receive RRC configuration information that maps the target UE to a first PUCCH resource, a first secondary UE to a second PUCCH resource, a second secondary UE to a third PUCCH resource, and so on. When the UE receives GC-DCI of a scheduled PDSCH transmission, the receiving UE may know which PUCCH resource it is to use for HARQ-ACK feedback based on its location identified in the list. Upon receiving the HARQ-ACK feedback, the base station 108 may know which UEs successfully received PDSCH transmissions based on PUCCH resources used to transmit the HARQ-ACK feedback.

In some embodiments, the DCI may indicate only one PUCCH resource that may be used to assist the UE in transmitting the HARQ-ACK.

In some embodiments, different DCI/PDSCH (including the same transport block) may be transmitted to different aggregated UEs. This option may be associated with a relatively high overhead, but may also provide some additional flexibility/reliability.

Fig. 4 illustrates a signaling diagram 400 according to some embodiments. The signaling diagram 400 may be used in an embodiment in which the secondary UE 106 camps on a cell provided by the base station 108.

After establishing UE aggregation and activating the aggregation mode, the base station 108 may transmit the DCI/PDSCH 404 to both the target UE 104 and the secondary UE 106. If the target UE 104 did not successfully receive the PDSCH transmission, it may transmit a NACK at 408. Upon receiving a NACK (or not receiving an expected ACK), the base station 108 may then transmit a retransmission request 412 to the secondary UE 106. The retransmission request 412 may include a particular HARQ-ID associated with the transport block to be forwarded to the target UE 104. The secondary UE 106 may then transmit (retransmit) the transport block (received from the PDSCH transmitted at 404) to the target UE 104 at 416.

In some embodiments, the base station 108 may schedule resources (in terms of time and frequency) that may be used by the secondary UE 106 to transmit (retransmit) the transport block to the target UE 104. This may be similar to mode 1 side link resource allocation.

In some embodiments, the base station 108 may include in the retransmission request 412 an indication of a timeline for assisting the UE 106 in transmitting (retransmitting) transport blocks at 416. The frequency domain resources used to transmit (retransmit) the transport block at 416 may be the same resources on which the assisting UE 106 initially received the transport block in PDSCH 404.

In some embodiments, the secondary UE 106 may transmit (retransmit) the transport block to the target UE 104 without further indication, similar to that discussed above with respect to fig. 2.

Fig. 5 provides an operational flow/algorithm structure 500 according to some embodiments. The operational flow/algorithm structure 500 may be performed/implemented by a UE (such as, for example, the target UE 104 or UE 700) or a component thereof (e.g., the processor 704).

The operational flow/algorithm structure 500 may include identifying an assisting UE at 504. The secondary UE may be identified as being included in a UE aggregation group that includes the target UE. The aggregation group may be used to facilitate downlink communications to the target UE. In some embodiments, the secondary UE may be identified by proximity to the target UE, capabilities of the secondary UE, signal connections with the secondary UE, ownership status of the UE (e.g., both the secondary UE and the target UE correspond to the same user), and so on.

The operational flow/algorithm structure 500 may also include transmitting information to the secondary UE to enable reception of downlink communications at 508. The information may be configuration information such as RNTI, a portion of bandwidth configured for the target UE, PDCCH/PDSCH configuration for the target UE, or time at which the target UE expects to receive downlink communications.

In some embodiments, the target UE may also transmit information to the secondary UE to facilitate transmission of downlink communications from the secondary UE to the target UE. For example, the target UE may provide an indication of the preconfigured resources (in terms of time and frequency) that the secondary UE may use to transmit information to the target UE.

The operational flow/algorithm structure 500 may also include receiving downlink communications from the base station via the assisting UE at 512. In some embodiments, the reception of the downlink communication from the secondary UE may be in response to transmitting a specific request to the secondary UE via a side link control channel or transmitting a negative acknowledgement to the base station in an uplink control channel.

Fig. 6 provides an operational flow/algorithm structure 600 according to some embodiments. The operational flow/algorithm structure 600 may be executed or implemented by a base station, such as base station 108 or base station 900, or a component thereof (e.g., processor 904).

Operational flow/algorithm structure 600 may include receiving a request to enter an aggregation mode at 604. In some embodiments, the request may be part of HARQ feedback from a target UE that did not successfully receive PDSCH transmissions. In other embodiments, the request may be part of a scheduling request, PRACH transmission, or UCI.

The operational flow/algorithm structure 600 may also include generating, at 608, a downlink transmission to the target UE to be received by the target UE and the secondary UE. In some embodiments, the base station may use downlink parameters suggested for use by the target UE. In some embodiments, the downlink transmission may include DCI/PDSCH transmissions directed to the target UE and the secondary UE separately. PDSCH transmissions may include the same transport block to be sent to the target UE.

Operational flow/algorithm structure 600 may also include transmitting a downlink transmission at 612. In some embodiments, the base station may transmit downlink transmissions using a wider beam than that used in the non-aggregated mode. In other embodiments, the base station may use different beams for different aggregated UEs.

Fig. 7 provides an operational flow/algorithm structure 700 according to some embodiments. The operational flow/algorithm structure 700 may be performed/implemented by a UE (such as, for example, the target UE 104, the auxiliary UE 106, or the UE 800) or a component thereof (such as the processor 804).

Operational flow/algorithm structure 700 may include: at 704, DCI is processed that schedules PDSCH transmissions and includes a list of UE identities. The DCI may be GC-DCI or DCI with CRC scrambled by a group RNTI. In some embodiments, the UE identity list may be stored locally, and the DCI may only provide an index to the reference list.

The operational flow/algorithm structure 700 may also include determining a target UE based on the list at 708. For example, the first identification in the list may correspond to the target UE. The remaining identities in the list may correspond to secondary UEs. The UE executing the operational flow/algorithm structure 700 may determine where its identity in the list is located. Based on the location, the UE may determine its role and the identity of the target UE.

The operational flow/algorithm structure 700 may also include transmitting or receiving PDSCH transmissions for the UE at 712.

In the case where the identity of the UE is the first in the list, the UE may determine that it is the target UE. It may attempt to receive the scheduled PDSCH transmission directly from the base station. If the reception is unsuccessful, the target UE may receive PDSCH transmissions from one or more of the secondary UEs identified in the list. The secondary UE may transmit PDSCH as described elsewhere herein.

In the case that the identity of the UE is not the first in the list, the UE may determine that it is a secondary UE. It may attempt to receive a scheduled PDSCH transmission from the base station and automatically forward or wait for an indication (from the base station or target UE) to transmit the PDSCH transmission to the target UE.

Fig. 8 illustrates a UE 800 according to some embodiments. UE 800 may be similar to, and substantially interchangeable with, target UE 104 or auxiliary UE 106.

UE 800 may be any mobile or non-mobile computing device such as, for example, a mobile phone, a computer, a tablet, an industrial wireless sensor (e.g., microphone, carbon dioxide sensor, pressure sensor, humidity sensor, thermometer, motion sensor, accelerometer, laser scanner, fluid level sensor, inventory sensor, voltage/amperometric or actuator), a video monitoring/surveillance device (e.g., camera or video camera), a wearable device (e.g., smart watch), or an internet of things device.

The UE 800 may include a processor 804, RF interface circuitry 808, memory/storage 812, a user interface 816, sensors 820, drive circuitry 822, power Management Integrated Circuit (PMIC) 824, antenna structure 826, and a battery 828. The components of UE 800 may be implemented as Integrated Circuits (ICs), portions of integrated circuits, discrete electronic devices or other modules, logic components, hardware, software, firmware, or combinations thereof. The block diagram of fig. 8 is intended to illustrate a high-level view of some of the components of UE 800. However, some of the illustrated components may be omitted, additional components may be present, and different arrangements of the illustrated components may occur in other implementations.

The components of UE 800 may be coupled with various other components through one or more interconnects 832, which may represent any type of interface, input/output, bus (local, system, or expansion), transmission line, trace, or optical connection that allows various circuit components (on a common or different chip or chipset) to interact with each other.

The processor 804 may include processor circuits such as baseband processor circuit (BB) 804A, central processing unit Circuit (CPU) 804B, and graphics processor unit circuit (GPU) 804C. The processor 804 may include any type of circuit or processor circuit that executes or otherwise operates computer-executable instructions, such as program code, software modules, or functional processes from the memory/storage 812, to cause the UE 800 to perform operations as described herein.

In some embodiments, baseband processor circuit 804A may access a communication protocol stack 836 in memory/storage 812 to communicate over a 3GPP compatible network. Generally, the baseband processor circuit 804A may access the communication protocol stack 836 to: performing user plane functions at the PHY layer, MAC layer, RLC layer, PDCP layer, SDAP layer, and PDU layer; and performing control plane functions at the PHY layer, MAC layer, RLC layer, PDCP layer, RRC layer, and NAS layer. In some embodiments, PHY layer operations may additionally/alternatively be performed by components of the RF interface circuit 808.

Baseband processor circuit 804A may generate or process baseband signals or waveforms that carry information in a 3GPP compatible network. In some embodiments, the waveform for NR may be based on cyclic prefix OFDM (CP-OFDM) in the uplink or downlink, as well as discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-S-OFDM) in the uplink.

The memory/storage 812 may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media including instructions (e.g., communication protocol stack 836) executable by one or more of the processors 804 to cause the UE 800 to perform various operations described herein. Memory/storage 812 includes any type of volatile or non-volatile memory that may be distributed throughout UE 800. In some implementations, some of the memory/storage 812 may be located on the processor 804 itself (e.g., L1 cache and L2 cache), while other memory/storage 812 is located external to the processor 804, but accessible via a memory interface. Memory/storage 812 may include any suitable volatile or non-volatile memory such as, but not limited to, dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), static Random Access Memory (SRAM), erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EPROM), electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROM), flash memory, solid state memory, or any other type of memory device technology.

The RF interface circuitry 808 may include transceiver circuitry and a radio frequency front end module (RFEM) that allows the UE 800 to communicate with other devices over a radio access network. The RF interface circuit 808 may include various elements arranged in either a transmit path or a receive path. These elements may include, for example, switches, mixers, amplifiers, filters, synthesizer circuits, and control circuits.

In the receive path, the RFEM may receive the radiated signal from the air interface via the antenna structure 826 and continue to filter and amplify the signal (with a low noise amplifier). The signal may be provided to a receiver of a transceiver that down-converts the RF signal to a baseband signal that is provided to a baseband processor of processor 804.

In the transmit path, the transmitter of the transceiver up-converts the baseband signal received from the baseband processor and provides the RF signal to the RFEM. The RFEM may amplify the RF signal by a power amplifier before the signal is radiated across the air interface via antenna 826.

In various embodiments, the RF interface circuit 808 may be configured to transmit/receive signals in a manner compatible with NR and side link access technologies.

Antenna 826 may include antenna elements to convert electrical signals into radio waves to travel through air and to convert received radio waves into electrical signals. The antenna elements may be arranged as one or more antenna panels. Antenna 826 may have an omni-directional, or a combination thereof antenna panel to enable beam forming and multiple input/multiple output communication. Antenna 826 may include a microstrip antenna, a printed antenna fabricated on a surface of one or more printed circuit boards, a patch antenna, or a phased array antenna. Antenna 826 may have one or more panels designed for a particular frequency band, including the frequency band in FR1 or FR 2.

The user interface circuitry 816 includes various input/output (I/O) devices designed to enable a user to interact with the UE 800. The user interface circuitry 816 includes input device circuitry and output device circuitry. The input device circuitry includes any physical or virtual means for accepting input, including, inter alia, one or more physical or virtual buttons (e.g., a reset button), a physical keyboard, a keypad, a mouse, a touch pad, a touch screen, a microphone, a scanner, a headset, and the like. Output device circuitry includes any physical or virtual means for displaying information or otherwise conveying information, such as sensor readings, actuator positions, or other similar information. The output device circuitry may include any number or combination of audio or visual displays, including, inter alia, one or more simple visual outputs/indicators (e.g., binary status indicators such as Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs)) and multi-character visual outputs), or more complex outputs such as display devices or touch screens (e.g., liquid Crystal Displays (LCDs), LED displays, quantum dot displays, and projectors), where the output of characters, graphics, multimedia objects, etc., is generated or produced by operation of the UE 800.

The sensor 820 may include a device, module, or subsystem that is aimed at detecting an event or change in its environment, and transmitting information (sensor data) about the detected event to some other device, module, or subsystem. Examples of such sensors include: an inertial measurement unit comprising an accelerometer, gyroscope or magnetometer; microelectromechanical or nanoelectromechanical systems including triaxial accelerometers, triaxial gyroscopes or magnetometers; a liquid level sensor; a flow sensor; a temperature sensor (e.g., a thermistor); a pressure sensor; an air pressure sensor; a gravimeter; a height gauge; an image capturing device (e.g., a camera or a lens-free aperture); light detection and ranging sensors; a proximity sensor (e.g., an infrared radiation detector, etc.); a depth sensor; an ambient light sensor; an ultrasonic transceiver; and a microphone or other similar audio capturing device.

The driver circuit 822 may include software elements and hardware elements for controlling particular devices embedded in the UE 800, attached to the UE 800, or otherwise communicatively coupled with the UE 800. The driver circuit 822 may include various drivers to allow other components to interact with or control various input/output (I/O) devices that may be present within or connected to the UE 800. For example, the driving circuit 822 may include: a display driver for controlling and allowing access to the display device, a touch screen driver for controlling and allowing access to the touch screen interface, a sensor driver for taking sensor readings of the sensor circuit 820 and controlling and allowing access to the sensor circuit 820, a driver for taking actuator positions of the electromechanical components or controlling and allowing access to the electromechanical components, a camera driver for controlling and allowing access to the embedded image capturing device, an audio driver for controlling and allowing access to the one or more audio devices.

PMIC 824 may manage the power provided to the various components of UE 800. Specifically, relative to processor 804, pmic 824 may control power supply selection, voltage scaling, battery charging, or DC-DC conversion.

The battery 828 may power the UE 800, but in some examples, the UE 800 may be installed and deployed in a fixed location and may have a power source coupled to the power grid. The battery 828 may be a lithium ion battery, a metal-air battery such as a zinc-air battery, an aluminum-air battery, a lithium-air battery, or the like. In some implementations, such as in vehicle-based applications, the battery 828 may be a typical lead-acid automotive battery.

Fig. 9 illustrates a base station 900 according to some embodiments. Base station 900 may be similar to base station 108 and substantially interchangeable therewith.

Base station 900 may include a processor 904, RF interface circuit 908 (if implemented as a base station), core Network (CN) interface circuit 912, memory/storage circuit 916, and antenna structure 926 (if implemented as a base station).

The components of base station 900 may be coupled with various other components by one or more interconnects 928.

The processor 904, RF interface circuit 908, memory/storage circuit 916 (including the communication protocol stack 910), antenna structure 926, and interconnector 928 may be similar to similarly named elements shown and described with reference to fig. 8.

The CN interface circuit 912 may provide a connection to a core network (e.g., a 5GC using a 5 th generation core network (5 GC) -compatible network interface protocol such as carrier ethernet protocol or some other suitable protocol). The network connection may be provided to/from the base station 900 via an optical fiber or wireless backhaul. The CN interface circuit 912 may include one or more dedicated processors or FPGAs for communicating using one or more of the aforementioned protocols. In some implementations, the CN interface circuit 912 may include multiple controllers for providing connections to other networks using the same or different protocols.

In some embodiments, the base station 900 may be coupled with a Transmit Receive Point (TRP) using an antenna structure 926, CN interface circuitry, or other interface circuitry.

It is well known that the use of personally identifiable information should follow privacy policies and practices that are recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or government requirements for maintaining user privacy. In particular, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of inadvertent or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of authorized use should be specified to the user.

For one or more embodiments, at least one of the components shown in one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to perform one or more operations, techniques, procedures, or methods described in the examples section below. For example, the baseband circuitry described above in connection with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the following examples. As another example, circuitry associated with a UE, base station, or network element described above in connection with one or more of the preceding figures may be configured to operate in accordance with one or more of the examples shown in the examples section below.

Examples

In the following sections, further exemplary embodiments are provided.

Embodiment 1 includes a method of operating a target User Equipment (UE), the method comprising: identifying an auxiliary UE; transmitting information to the secondary UE to enable the secondary UE to receive downlink communications from the base station to the target UE; and receiving downlink communications from the base station via the secondary UE.

Embodiment 2 includes a method according to embodiment 1 or some other embodiments herein, wherein the information includes: one or more Radio Network Temporary Identities (RNTIs), a bandwidth portion configured for a target UE; physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) configuration for the target UE; PDSCH configuration for target UE; or the expected time of receiving the downlink communication.

Embodiment 3 includes a method according to embodiment 1 or some other embodiments herein, wherein identifying the assisting UE includes: determining that the secondary UE and the target UE are associated with the same user; determining that the secondary UE is within a predefined range from the target UE; determining that the assisting UE has provided an indication that it is capable of assisting; determining an expected proximity of the auxiliary UE to the target UE; or determines that the assisting UE has sufficient capability to assist.

Embodiment 4 includes a method according to embodiment 1 or some other embodiment herein, the method further comprising: a request to enter an aggregation mode is transmitted to a base station, wherein the request is uplink control information, an extended hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK), a scheduling request, or a physical random access channel transmission.

Embodiment 5 includes a method according to some other embodiments of embodiment 4 herein, wherein transmitting the request includes: the transmission is indicative of the time required to process the physical downlink shared channel transmission and provide an acknowledgement.

Embodiment 6 includes a method as in some other embodiments herein according to embodiment 4, wherein transmitting the request includes: an indication of a transmission configuration indication identity for a downlink communication request is transmitted.

Embodiment 7 includes a method according to embodiment 1 or some other embodiment herein, the method further comprising: a request for downlink communication is transmitted to the secondary UE, wherein the request is transmitted as side link control information on a physical side link control channel or as negative acknowledgement information on a physical uplink control channel.

Embodiment 8 includes a method according to embodiment 1 or some other embodiment herein, the method further comprising: an indication of pre-configured resources to be used for transmitting downlink communications to a target UE is transmitted to a secondary UE.

Embodiment 9 includes the method of embodiment 1 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the downlink communication is a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) transmission, and the method further comprises: receiving a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) transmission of a scheduled PDSCH transmission; receiving PDSCH transmissions from the secondary UE; generating hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) Acknowledgement (ACK) information related to receiving PDSCH transmissions; transmitting an indication in a first Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) resource allocated for HARQ-ACK information that the HARQ-ACK information is not ready for transmission in the first PUCCH resource in time; and transmitting the HARQ-ACK information in a second PUCCH resource allocated for the HARQ-ACK information after the first PUCCH resource.

Embodiment 10 includes a method according to embodiment 9 or some other embodiments herein, wherein the indication is to provide an offset between a first PUCCH resource and a second PUCCH resource.

Embodiment 11 includes a method of operating a base station, the method comprising: receiving a request from a target User Equipment (UE) to enter an aggregation mode with a secondary UE; generating, to the target UE, a downlink transmission to be received by the target UE and the auxiliary UE; and transmitting a downlink transmission.

Embodiment 12 includes a method according to embodiment 11 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the requesting includes: uplink control information, extended hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK), scheduling request, or physical random access channel transmission.

Embodiment 13 includes a method according to embodiment 11 or some other embodiment herein, wherein transmitting a downlink transmission includes: downlink transmissions are transmitted using beams in an aggregate mode that are wider than beams in a non-aggregate mode.

Embodiment 14 includes a method according to embodiment 11 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the downlink transmission includes: first downlink control information and a first Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) transmission transmitted to the target UE; and transmitting second downlink control information and a second PDSCH transmission to the secondary UE, wherein the first PDSCH transmission and the second PDSCH transmission include a common transport block for the target UE.

Embodiment 15 includes a method of operating a User Equipment (UE), the method comprising: processing Downlink Control Information (DCI) that schedules a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) transmission and includes a list of a plurality of UE identities that respectively correspond to a plurality of UEs within a downlink aggregation group to which the PDSCH transmission is sent; and determining a target UE of the plurality of UEs based on the order of the list.

Embodiment 16 includes a method according to embodiment 15 or some other embodiment herein, further comprising: PDSCH transmissions are transmitted to UEs. PDSCH transmissions (which may or may not be based on specific requests for PDSCH transmissions from the target UE) may be transmitted on pre-configured time-domain or frequency-domain resources of the PSSCH or PUSCH.

Embodiment 17 includes a method according to embodiment 15 or some other embodiments herein, wherein the UE is a target UE, the plurality of UEs includes an auxiliary UE, and the method further comprises: PDSCH transmissions are received from the secondary UE.

Embodiment 18 includes the method of embodiment 15 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the DCI includes a group common DCI or includes cyclic redundancy check bits scrambled with a group radio network temporary identity.

Embodiment 19 includes a method according to embodiment 15 or some other embodiment herein, further comprising: identifying Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) resources based on the list of the plurality of UEs; and transmitting hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) Acknowledgement (ACK) information corresponding to the PDSCH transmission in the PUCCH resource.

Embodiment 20 includes a method of operating a base station, the method comprising: transmitting transport blocks to a target User Equipment (UE) in downlink transmissions to the target UE and to an auxiliary UE; determining that the target UE does not successfully receive the transport block; and transmitting a request to the secondary UE to transmit the transport block to the target UE.

Embodiment 21 includes a method according to embodiment 20 or some other embodiment herein wherein the request includes a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) identification associated with a transport block.

Embodiment 22 includes a method according to embodiment 20 or some other embodiment herein, wherein determining that a transport block was not successfully received comprises: receiving a negative acknowledgement from the target UE; or no expected positive acknowledgement is received from the target UE.

Embodiment 23 includes a method according to embodiment 20 or some other embodiment herein, further comprising: an indication of resources to be used by the secondary UE to transmit transport block transmissions to the target UE is transmitted.

Embodiment 24 may comprise an apparatus comprising means for performing one or more elements of the method described in or associated with any one of embodiments 1-23 or any other method or process described herein.

Embodiment 25 may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media comprising instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform one or more elements of the method or any other method or process described in or related to embodiments 1-23.

Embodiment 26 may comprise an apparatus comprising logic, modules, or circuitry to perform one or more elements of the method according to or in connection with any one of embodiments 1-23 or any other method or process described herein.

Embodiment 27 may include a method, technique or process as described in or associated with any one of embodiments 1 to 23, or a portion or part thereof.

Embodiment 28 may include an apparatus comprising: one or more processors and one or more computer-readable media comprising instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the method, technique, or process, or portion thereof, according to or related to any one of embodiments 1-23.

Embodiment 29 may comprise a signal according to or related to any of embodiments 1 to 23, or a part or component thereof.

Embodiment 30 may include a datagram, an information element, a packet, a frame, a segment, a PDU, or a message according to or related to any one of embodiments 1-23, or a portion or component thereof, or otherwise described in this disclosure.

Embodiment 31 may comprise a signal encoded with data according to or related to any of embodiments 1 to 23, or a portion or part thereof, or otherwise described in this disclosure.

Embodiment 32 may include a signal encoded with a datagram, IE, packet, frame, segment, PDU, or message, or a portion or component thereof, or otherwise described in this disclosure, in accordance with or related to any of embodiments 1-23.

Embodiment 33 may comprise an electromagnetic signal carrying computer-readable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, will cause the one or more processors to perform the method, technique, or process, or portion thereof, in accordance with or in association with any one of embodiments 1 to 23.

Embodiment 34 may comprise a computer program comprising instructions, wherein execution of the program by a processing element will cause the processing element to perform a method, technique or process according to or related to any one of embodiments 1 to 23, or a part thereof.

Embodiment 35 may include signals in a wireless network as shown and described herein.

Embodiment 36 may include a method of communicating in a wireless network as shown and described herein.

Embodiment 37 may include a system for providing wireless communications as shown and described herein.

Embodiment 38 may include an apparatus for providing wireless communications as shown and described herein.

Any of the above examples may be combined with any other example (or combination of examples) unless explicitly stated otherwise. The foregoing description of one or more implementations provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of the embodiments to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings or may be acquired from practice of various implementations.

Although the above embodiments have been described in considerable detail, numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated. It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to embrace all such variations and modifications.

Claims (24)

1. One or more computer-readable media having instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause a target User Equipment (UE) to:

identifying an auxiliary UE;

Transmitting information to the secondary UE to enable the secondary UE to receive downlink communications from a base station to the target UE; and

the downlink communication is received from the base station via the secondary UE.

2. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 1, wherein the information comprises: one or more Radio Network Temporary Identities (RNTIs), a bandwidth portion configured for the target UE; physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) configuration for the target UE; PDSCH configuration for the target UE; or the expected time of receipt of the downlink communication.

3. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 1 or 2, wherein to identify the secondary UE, the target UE is to:

determining that the secondary UE and the target UE are associated with the same user;

determining that the secondary UE is within a predefined range from the target UE;

determining that the auxiliary UE has provided an indication that the auxiliary UE is capable of assisting;

determining an expected proximity of the secondary UE to the target UE;

or alternatively

And determining that the auxiliary UE has enough capability to assist.

4. The one or more computer-readable media of any of claims 1-3, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the target UE to:

A request to enter an aggregation mode is transmitted to the base station, wherein the request is uplink control information, an extended hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK), a scheduling request, or a physical random access channel transmission.

5. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 4, wherein to transmit the request, the target UE is to:

the transmission is indicative of the time required to process the physical downlink shared channel transmission and provide an acknowledgement.

6. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 4, wherein to transmit the request, the target UE is to:

an indication of a transmission configuration indication identity for the downlink communication request is transmitted.

7. The one or more computer-readable media of any of claims 1-6, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the target UE to:

a request for the downlink communication is transmitted to the secondary UE, wherein the request is transmitted as side link control information on a physical side link control channel or as negative acknowledgement information on a physical uplink control channel.

8. The one or more computer-readable media of any of claims 1-7, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the target UE to:

An indication of pre-configured resources to be used for transmitting the downlink communication to the target UE is transmitted to the secondary UE.

9. The one or more computer-readable media of any of claims 1-8, wherein the downlink communication is a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) transmission, and the instructions, when executed, further cause the target UE to:

receiving a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) transmission scheduling the PDSCH transmission;

receiving the PDSCH transmission from the secondary UE;

generating hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) Acknowledgement (ACK) information related to receiving the PDSCH transmission;

transmitting an indication in a first Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) resource allocated for the HARQ-ACK information that the HARQ-ACK information is not ready for transmission in the first PUCCH resource in time; and

transmitting the HARQ-ACK information in a second PUCCH resource allocated for the HARQ-ACK information after the first PUCCH resource.

10. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 9, wherein the indication is to provide an offset between the first PUCCH resource and the second PUCCH resource.

11. An apparatus for employment in a base station, the apparatus comprising:

receive circuitry to receive a request from a target User Equipment (UE) to enter an aggregation mode with a secondary UE;

processing circuitry to generate, to the target UE, a downlink transmission to be received by the target UE and the auxiliary UE; and

and a transmission circuit for transmitting the downlink transmission.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the request comprises: uplink control information, extended hybrid automatic repeat request acknowledgement (HARQ-ACK), scheduling request, or physical random access channel transmission.

13. The apparatus of claim 11 or 12, wherein the transmission circuitry is to transmit the downlink transmission using a beam in the aggregated mode that is wider than a beam in a non-aggregated mode.

14. The apparatus according to any of claims 11 to 13, wherein the downlink transmission comprises:

first downlink control information and a first Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) transmission transmitted to the target UE; and

second downlink control information and second PDSCH transmissions to the secondary UE,

Wherein the first PDSCH transmission and the second PDSCH transmission include a common transport block for the target UE.

15. A method of operating a User Equipment (UE), the method comprising:

processing Downlink Control Information (DCI) that schedules a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) transmission and includes a list of a plurality of UE identities that respectively correspond to a plurality of UEs within a downlink aggregation group to which the PDSCH transmission is transmitted; and

a target UE of the plurality of UEs is determined based on an order of the list.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

the PDSCH transmission is transmitted to the target UE on a physical side link shared channel or a physical uplink shared channel.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein transmitting the PDSCH transmission is not based on a particular request for the PDSCH transmission from the target UE and is transmitted on pre-configured time-domain or frequency-domain resources.

18. The method of any of claims 15-17, wherein the UE is the target UE, the plurality of UEs includes a secondary UE, and the method further comprises:

the PDSCH transmission is received from the secondary UE.

19. The method of any of claims 15 to 18, wherein the DCI comprises a group common DCI or comprises cyclic redundancy check bits scrambled with a group radio network temporary identity.

20. The method of any one of claims 15 to 19, the method further comprising:

identifying Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) resources based on the list of the plurality of UEs; and

hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) Acknowledgement (ACK) information corresponding to the PDSCH transmission is transmitted in the PUCCH resource.

21. A method of operating a base station, the method comprising:

transmitting a transport block to a target User Equipment (UE) in a downlink transmission to the target UE and a secondary UE;

determining that the target UE did not successfully receive the transport block; and

a request to the secondary UE to transmit the transport block to the target UE is transmitted.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the request comprises a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) identification associated with the transport block.

23. The method of claim 21, wherein determining that the transport block was not successfully received comprises:

receiving a negative acknowledgement from the target UE; or alternatively

An expected positive acknowledgement is not received from the target UE.

24. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

an indication of resources to be used by the secondary UE to transmit the transport block to the target UE is transmitted.

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